Borders MP's Ministerial role 'in need of review'

by EWAN LAMB

The role of the Scotland Office, which has a multi-million pounds annual budget despite a much restricted function since the establishment of a Scottish Parliament needs to be examined in detail, according to a House of Commons Committee.

Members of the Scottish Affairs Committee have also called into question the post of Secretary of State for Scotland, currently occupied by David Mundell, part of whose Westminster constituency lies in the Borders.

Following an investigation which was launched last September, the Committee, including another Borders Conservative MP John Lamont, concluded in their report "We have not heard any evidence to suggest that the Scotland Office’s representative role, or its handling of devolution matters, could not be dealt with by an altogether different model of devolved representation in Whitehall, such as a single department responsible for devolution and constitutional affairs.

"We recommend that the UK Government reviews the role of the Scotland Office and the Secretary of State for Scotland. As part of this review, the UK Government should explore options including replacing the territorial offices of state with a single department responsible for managing constitutional affairs and intergovernmental relations. The review must ensure that any changes do not reduce the quality of how Scotland is represented in the UK Government nor reduce the ability of the UK and Scottish Governments to work together."

The Scottish Affairs Committee members concede that the Scotland Office has played an important role during high profile, Scotland–specific political developments in recent years—such as the passage of Scotland Acts. However, outside of these major events it is clear that the majority of most intergovernmental relations are conducted directly between the Scottish Government and the relevant Whitehall departments.

"The Scotland Office needs to adapt to the reality of how devolution is working on the ground. We do, however, recognise that there is a legitimate role to be played in terms of the Office representing the work of the UK Government in Edinburgh."

It is claimed in the report that the department’s role has changed significantly since devolution. Originally the department dealt with most aspects of the domestic governance of Scotland. However, since devolution, its responsibilities have been limited to representing Scotland at the UK Government level on reserved matters, such as foreign policy and employment, and representing the work of UK Government within the Scottish Government. This role includes facilitating the smooth operation of devolution, and administering certain reserved matters of government relating to Scotland.

"During this inquiry we heard mixed evidence about whether the Scotland Office adds value to the relationship between the UK and Scottish Governments. Some witnesses felt the Scotland Office still serves a useful purpose.

"Michael Moore [a former Borders Liberal Democrat MP who served as Scotland's Secretary of State from2010–2013) argued that the Scotland Office was also a key player during the Scottish independence referendum and further devolution of powers to the Scottish Parliament in the 2012 and 2016 Scotland Acts.

"Mr Mundell did not give oral evidence to our inquiry, instead writing to us to set out the UK Government’s position. Using the Scottish City and Growth Deals programme as an example of effective collaboration, the Secretary of State noted that the Scotland Office plays an important role in 'engaging and representing]Scottish stakeholders in the work of the UK Government and communicat[ing] the work of the UK Government in Scotland'”.

Other witnesses were less convinced that there remains a meaningful role for the Office.

For example, Lord Wallace, former Deputy First Minister of Scotland (1999–2005), argued that the role of the Secretary of State for Scotland added little value during his time in Government, because most UK–Scottish Government working was carried out on a department–to–department and official-to-official basis, rather than through the territorial offices.

Professor Jim Gallagher suggested the Scotland Office could be abolished and replaced by a single, powerful department at the centre of government”. Similarly, Lord McConnell recommended that the Scotland Office could be replaced by a “Department of Constitutional Affairs” or a “Department of the Nations and Regions”.

However, David Mundell told the committee he “strongly disagreed” that a single department responsible for intergovernmental relations would be better placed to represent the interests of the devolved administrations.

Mr Mundell argued, instead, that the Scotland Office played a key role in ensuring “that Scotland’s interests are reflected in the policy work of the UK Government”, and that this was best achieved by having Scotland’s interests represented by a dedicated Secretary of State in the Cabinet.